A match to learn from.....

[Guest Tim Cooke]

Recently when I have been watching matches, I have been giving an added focus to the crowds and how they respond to certain things and what works and what doesn't.  

 

So upon watching the 10/24/91 Jumbo v Kawada match again, I wasn't exactly focusing on the work itself, but how the crowd responded to what.

 

The match is laid out very simply.  Going into the match, Jumbo is the freaking man, the best.  Misawa had pinned him a year and a half ago (6/8/90) and made him submit on 9/30/91 in a tag match, but other than that, no one could oust Jumbo.  If HHH thinks he is a man's man, then Jumbo is GOD.  Jumbo is the respected elder who can do anything and do it great.  

 

Kawada is number two on Misawa's team and is very much lower in the pecking order for a guy as high as Jumbo.  

 

Yet, this match is put together so well and smartly that the fans popped for every nearfall and Kawada was made to look like a true threat.

 

The story in this match is Kawada working over Jumbo's head while Jumbo's strategy has to be altered because Kawada was able to find a weakness in Jumbo's game plan, his head.

 

Kawada is able to work the first couple of minutes going after Jumbo's head with a rough side headlock.  Jumbo is able to sell this perfectly and the tone is set for the match.

 

This simple side headlock sequence instantly connects with the crowd.  They see Kawada is not taking the route that he could be beat with, by trying to beat down Jumbo.  Jumbo is more powerful and would kill him dead.  Instead, Kawada takes a simple yet very effective route.  The crowd is up for this.

 

Kawada does an abdominal stretch in the ring (and outside the ring) while putting pressure on the head of Jumbo.  The crowd eats this up as Kawada keeps on focusing on wearing Jumbo down, while Jumbo sells it so well that the head does become a threat later in the match.

 

Compare this to the basic yet stupid mat work in the recent HHH/Jericho WM match and the 10/00 PPV match between Benoit and HHH.  Both of those matches focus on periods of leg work, yet the leg work is never really a threat to the ending.  Maybe it is because the fans have been tarined not to like that sort of stuff but I am convinced if the WWF machine can get huge reactions for a fossil like Hogan, that even the simplest person could pick up and pop for simple spots if they are done well and have meaning in the end.  Ditto to the NJ and other Juniors matches where they do the eat up the time mat work.

 

Jumbo, being so over with the crowd, makes his comebacks and straps on a body sleeper hold.  A minute later, Kawada does this same manuever to a nice pop.  I have seen the WWF copy this in the Rock using the Crossface on Benoit and HHH using the Walls of Jericho on Jericho.  But the key here is that Kawada is not only paying back Jumbo, but the move is designed for more pressure on the head.  The fans are able to relate here because a- Jumbo used the move previously (because Jumbo is so over and respected, Kawada trying shows the Kawada is *thinking* at the level of Tsuruta); b- the sleeper hold is credible in relation to Kawada's neck work on Jumbo.

 

Jumbo keeps fighting back with his normal array of spots while selling the previous damage of the the head work.  Simple spots as an irish ship on Kawada with a boot by Jumbo yet Kawada ducking gets huge pops.  

 

Another key to this match is Kawada not blowing out all of his key moves for Jumbo to kick out of.  Kawada tries for a powerbomb but isn't able to get it off.  From this, we are able to see that Jumbo is good enough to fight it off but the question left in our heads is "If Kawada were to hit the powerbomb, would Jumbo be finished?"  By not hitting this and other moves, they stay valuable for a more important match, they leave the audience thinking, and the moves aren't devalued by the constant kicking out of them (see AJPW 97 on for that element).

 

The crowd was up for this match because of how Kawada was able to look so good and how Jumbo let him do it by selling so well for him, as well as keeping his portion of the crowd engaged with his "arm raise" and just great wrestling mind.

 

The WWF itself prides its product on being innovative wrestling in the US with all the wrestlers having the simple fundamentals down pact.  People who have seen a wide range of wrestling will beg to differ with the WWF.  Yet, if the WWF did this type of match with the right booking leading up to the match, I think they would accomplish both the "innovation" and "technical simplicity" that Jim Lost and Vince think they currently have.

 

Anyone who hasn't seen this match needs to see it.  You don't need to know anything except Jumbo is a real man who can back it up with the moves, the thinking, and the crowd (where as the "real" men of the WWF, HHH, Rock, all have flaws in at least one of these categories) and that Kawada is much lower on the ranks than Jumbo, yet is thinking enough to make the contest more than interesting in determining the outcome.

 

Tim, who also thinks that people should see the Hansen v Destroyer 1973 match for the same premise that the Kawada/Jumbo match entails.

 

(I would also suggest reading about that match at www.airraidcrash.com because the simplicities in that match are explained much better than the writing that I currently do)

[Guest Jubuki]

One thing you missed out on mentioning about Kawada/Jumbo is how Kawada performs the headlocks.  When Jumbo tries to throw him off into the ropes, Kawada hangs on for all he's got and drives Jumbo to the mat on more than a few occasions.  It's a familiar moment to longtime All Japan watchers; Misawa had done the same thing to Tsuruta back in '88, and Jumbo had done the same to Terry Funk back in '76 (except with an armbar).  It's somewhat common to see a younger, lower-ranked AJ guy take on a title holder and consistently work back to a basic hold.  Kawada did this and, in the process, got across his tenacity and unwillingness to let Jumbo dictate the flow of the contest.  Kawada didn't really stand a chance in He11 in the match, but it's part of the magic that was Jumbo to watch him put someone over so well by allowing Kawada to look strong and in control.

 

As for the '75 Hansen/Destroyer, it's a different kind of animal, but I see where you link these two matches - both feature rudimentary holds used to their utmost potential.  With Jumbo/Kawada, Kawada is saying, "I'm going to take the fight to you; I'm going to give you a He11 of a run, Old Man."  With Hansen/Destroyer, Destroyer uses the headscissors escapes to showcase his superiority: "It doesn't matter if you're stronger, or younger, or if you cheat, Stan -- I'm smarter than you, and that's all I need to beat you."  

 

I think there's some credence to what you're saying; after all, all this wrestling started over here, and the work was damned popular at one point.  However, I don't think the pops for Hogan suggest that well-used basic wrestling could be over like they were in these 2 matches...there isn't anything there that points to causality for me.  The WWF shows were in Canada, which doesn't get regular visits.  The crowds were there for maybe the 2 biggest back-to-back shows of the year, and they were torqued.  That probably had a lot to do with it; I wonder when the last time was that they had the chance to give Hogan an ovation.  I wouldn't expect the same reaction in the States; put either one in Worcester, MA or Anaheim, where they run quite a few RAWs and SD!s, and I don't think it'd be anywhere close.  But I won't be around to find out, considering what I saw Monday was enough to remind me why I didn't watch anymore.  I'd much rather see the indy guys out there learn from Jumbo/Kawada & Hansen/Destroyer than see the WWF do so.

[Guest Tim Cooke]

"One thing you missed out on mentioning about Kawada/Jumbo is how Kawada performs the headlocks.  When Jumbo tries to throw him off into the ropes, Kawada hangs on for all he's got and drives Jumbo to the mat on more than a few occasions.  It's a familiar moment to longtime All Japan watchers; Misawa had done the same thing to Tsuruta back in '88, and Jumbo had done the same to Terry Funk back in '76 (except with an armbar).  It's somewhat common to see a younger, lower-ranked AJ guy take on a title holder and consistently work back to a basic hold.  Kawada did this and, in the process, got across his tenacity and unwillingness to let Jumbo dictate the flow of the contest.  Kawada didn't really stand a chance in He11 in the match, but it's part of the magic that was Jumbo to watch him put someone over so well by allowing Kawada to look strong and in control."

 

I wanted to mention that but it slipped my mind because though I should do an outline, I never do them for spur of the moment things like this.  The history of the Young v Older using the basics to build off of and create credability is something that AJPW did well, but the thing about this match is you don't have to know that to like it just as much.  It makes it even better if you know it but shouldn't detract.  And I also need to see the Jumbo/TM 3/9/88 match as well....for that and for the obvious look at how it compares to Flair/Sting from Clash I.

 

"As for the '75 Hansen/Destroyer, it's a different kind of animal, but I see where you link these two matches - both feature rudimentary holds used to their utmost potential.  With Jumbo/Kawada, Kawada is saying, "I'm going to take the fight to you; I'm going to give you a He11 of a run, Old Man."  With Hansen/Destroyer, Destroyer uses the headscissors escapes to showcase his superiority: "It doesn't matter if you're stronger, or younger, or if you cheat, Stan -- I'm smarter than you, and that's all I need to beat you."

 

Agreed.  I related the Destroyer match (or most of his matches for that point) to the Kawada/Jumbo match as a way of injecting the actual art of thinking into the match by the wrestlers, so much that the fan at home gets a double does of goodness.  

 

"I think there's some credence to what you're saying; after all, all this wrestling started over here, and the work was damned popular at one point.  However, I don't think the pops for Hogan suggest that well-used basic wrestling could be over like they were in these 2 matches...there isn't anything there that points to causality for me."

 

Very true but I didn't make myself clear enough.  WWF fans for the most part are almost like walking zombies when told who to like and what to like.  The WWF machine dictates what these people want to see and what they like.  *IF* and if is used in the lowest regard here, they pushed for this type of match to happen with the *right* wrestlers and the *right booking* and the right crowd, it could work.  Will it even happen?  Of course not.  

 

"The WWF shows were in Canada, which doesn't get regular visits.  The crowds were there for maybe the 2 biggest back-to-back shows of the year, and they were torqued.  That probably had a lot to do with it; I wonder when the last time was that they had the chance to give Hogan an ovation.  I wouldn't expect the same reaction in the States; put either one in Worcester, MA or Anaheim, where they run quite a few RAWs and SD!s, and I don't think it'd be anywhere close.  But I won't be around to find out, considering what I saw Monday was enough to remind me why I didn't watch anymore.  I'd much rather see the indy guys out there learn from Jumbo/Kawada & Hansen/Destroyer than see the WWF do so."

 

I had the same thought about the reactions Hogan will get here in the states.  

 

I would definetly like to see Indy guys develop off of this.  The main thing they have going against them is the current batch of Indy fans want to see all the dangerous moves and stuff bullshit that makes no sense.

 

But then again, I have always had it in the back of my mind that if someone had the balls to start a promotion that used some common sense and didn't give a shit if every match was booed out of the building because they built it right, it could work.  

 

When Bischoff brought in the Cruiserweights in 1996, he cut off the time killing mat work that makes sense in most of the matches and replaced it with all highspots.  Thus the fans only wanted highspots and when you had someone like Psicosis who wasn't flashy other than his bumps, he had a hard time getting over because he wasn't fast and innovative like Rey Jr.

 

No one has eve cared to re-educate the fans, especially after Russo's reigns of terror in WCW, which had the chance to be able to do so........but they didn't have the balls.

 

Tim